1. Technical Field
The invention relates to wide area surveillance and is specifically directed to a robust, outdoor automated sentry equipped both for monitoring an area and for challenging unauthorized entry to the area under surveillance.
2. Description of the Problem
Unmanned, wide area video monitoring for perimeter or boundary control has become steadily more common in recent years as cameras and monitor components have declined in price. Data processing and network communication links are capable of handling large quantities of digitized, raw data. Video monitoring can work under both daylight conditions, using the usual visual bandwidth, and under low light conditions using the near infrared spectrum. Techniques for automated identification of regions of an image with a high likelihood of corresponding to an object have been developed. The various techniques of object recognition require associating groups of pixels together as the “object”. Once an object has been identified, the object can be characterized by shape (including a dynamically changing shape as might be produced by a flock of birds), form and expected location. An identified object may be further characterized by trajectory and velocity information. Selected data was characterized in U.S. Pat. No. 6,947,590 as pixel metadata.
While monitoring of an area is well developed, most security systems have relied on directing a human to the locale of a detected intrusion. The lack of a non-lethal or non-crippling methods of repelling intruders has also hampered deployment of automatic or remotely controlled instrumentalities for discouraging encroachment.